Love and Crown

My heart is bleeding!

Guys l am a very patient person who is willing to keep on watching a drama regardless of how much it may drag, but this drama is really pushing me to my limits!

I had and still have so much hope in it that l made edits for the drama from the first episode! I justified the misunderstandings under the idea that the male lead didn’t want to hurt the female lead by telling her the truth about the “people she dearly loved.” Anyway misunderstandings are part of life so l didn’t let that put me off and still continued watching the drama😩

I am okay with both the leads acting, the male lead’s character isn’t the aggressive, overly dramatic or domineering type so Ren Jia Lun’s acting is fine by me, the female lead isn’t the weak type considering how she single-handedly overturned situations in the past few episodes.

I don’t know if l am being petty but tell me if it’s okay for the leads to appear for just 2 minutes the whole episode!!🥺😭 l don’t have anything against the supporting cast or their storylines because they have so much potential but why did the directors find it fit to sideline main leads like that in a whole episode???

I couldn’t bring myself to watch episode 20 today because l don’t know if there are more disappointments waiting for me, but l haven’t given up on Love and Crown yet🥺! I am hoping that the directors will do justice to all the actors as the storyline progresses! For now l am just frustrated by how they wasted the past episodes which could have been better but l am hoping my rating for the drama will increase till the end!😭

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This plot is so predictable, That you can write up every possible way the next conflict can be interesting, and still get the most predictable one. After watching 3 eps I was just skipping true to see if my prediction are right, there is absolutely no effort puts into the plot twists. What threw me off to write this review is the baby thingy, do people get pregnant from hugging now? and the way its presented its so unnecessary, the suspence from the physician has no use, because it doeasnt connect with thw audience, got no emotions from me. Even when she lost the baby, you could see it coming. I have to question why is the baby in the plot anyways.

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The actors saved the drama that was poorly written

I feel so bad for RLJ! This has the poorest plot I've seen this year. I would rather watch low-budget vertical dramas than this one! I like how the cast followed and acted what was needed to do but the last few episodes were so rushed as vital scenes were trimmed horribly, creating obvious gaps in the drama's logic and flow - most especially how Cangcang got a son whereas Bai died on that ceremony. They just showed they got a son 5 years later instead of following what's shown on the ep. teaser? WTF hahaha. The narrative suffered from the said disjointed editing that omitted impt sequences ngl. Good thing RLJ is done done in that agency. Hope he'll be treated well on this new journey - more freedom to accept better projects soon . Still trending because the actors gave their best but the creator sux.

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Love and Crown: A Beautiful Story That Loses Its Soul Midway

If you watch dramas mainly for the actors, visuals and the romance aesthetic, Love and Crown might still be enjoyable for you. Ren Jialun as Xiao Huan (also known as Bai Chifan) and Peng Xiaoran as Ling Cangcang have good chemistry, and the early setup looks promising. But if you care about strong storytelling, logical plot development or consistent character arcs, this drama will likely disappoint you because the writing collapses midway and becomes increasingly chaotic, dragging the entire show down.

⚠️ Spoilers Below

Love and Crown starts with genuine potential. Xiao Huan, the undercover emperor played by Ren Jialun, and Ling Cangcang, the righteous leader of Fenglai Pavilion played by Peng Xiaoran, form a strong and engaging pair. Their journey as they fight corruption, hidden schemes and martial world conflicts feels solid during the first half of the drama. The supporting cast including Zhang Yao as Xiao Qianqing, Wang Zhuocheng as Luo Xianxue and He Nan as Zhong Lin also offer strong performances that help build a compelling start.

Unfortunately, everything begins to fall apart after Episode 22 or something.
The plot becomes messy, inconsistent and filled with sudden twists that lack proper buildup. Alliances shift abruptly, conspiracies appear without explanation and many character decisions stop making sense. What began as a promising mix of romance, palace politics and wuxia slowly turns into a confusing narrative with little structure or logic.

Villain Arc Issue

The drama attempts to introduce stronger antagonistic influence through Du Tingxin, the Imperial Preceptor, who eventually goes rogue. Character have motives, but the drama fails to show any believable path for how they gain so much power or influence.She have no clear alliances, no strategic buildup, no logical political foundation, yet the story suddenly elevates them into major threats. This makes their villain turns feel forced and unearned, weakening the entire plot.

Wasted Performances

Even though the actors give committed and sincere performances, the weak writing undermines everything. Emotional arcs become inconsistent, motivations are ignored and pacing becomes uneven. The cast tries to hold the story together, but the script simply does not support them.

Dragging to 35 Episodes

Instead of tightening the narrative, the plot drags unnecessarily to a full 35 episodes. Conflicts repeat themselves, character actions become confusing and the final stretch feels disconnected from the strong beginning. The ending fails to deliver the emotional or narrative payoff the early episodes promised.


⭐ Final Verdict

Love and Crown had all the ingredients needed for a great historical drama including a talented cast, good chemistry and beautiful visuals. However, the lack of narrative logic, poorly developed villains and chaotic mid-to-late writing ruin the overall experience.

Rating: 4 out of 10. Beautiful production that ultimately wastes its potential.

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Horrible

A male lead that can't act, he has one facial expression for every scene in every role I've seen him in. Female lead doing a respectable job. But the worst part is the absolutely horrific writing.

We are supposed to believe that the ml is in love with the female lead for exactly what reason? She comes from a family of despicable people. She lies to him from the very start, putting him in extreme danger when she said she'd protect him. Then she proceeds to get drunk every episode. She blames the ml for all the bad that's happening around her. She's too stupid to realize her father and cohorts are the bad people. So why is the ml simping on her? I won't be watching past episode 10 so i can only imagine she must be his childhood first love somehow.

Instead of liking and rooting for the leads i can't stand either character. I don't know which one i can't stand more, the dumb whining crying drunk fl or the dumb ml who loves her and simps for her for no reason all while lying to her so that she hates him and not her father. The worst writing I've seen in the last 2 years of horribly written shows.

Saw a preview where the empress, obviously a woman, becomes a man in the army 🤦‍♂️And she said a couple of sentences to him as a sick boy to confirm the dumb childhood love. Such an awful show

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Very bad storyline and acting

I think the male lead is good but the FML, omg i think shes over doing it. Her acting so bad and theres no chemistry between the main roles. Storyline wise, i think this is by far the stupiest series i have ever watched. Its so stupid and doesnt make sense. The FML likes to jump the gun too soon and makes everything about her. And the ML like to lie unnecessarily just to create drama. Both of them are annoying and i cant stand watching this series. I survived episode 11 only. And to be honest the ML and FML are both not good looking especially the FML makes it harder to watch. Thank god the ML has a charismatic aura and he suits to be the emperor but thats about it. The storyline is so obvious and theres no mystery around it. So my rating would 1/10 for this series.

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Drama is a Little Dissapointing but I'll Watch it to the End.

The main leads were not utilized to show their acting skills. I'm happy to see Peng Xiao Ran in a few action, fight scenes. Although she's done quite a few costume dramas, this is the first I've seen her with a sword and fighting. It's disappointing that there is no intimate behavior in this drama. The main leads have a platonic relationship but love each other. Can't figure this one out. I'm watching this drama because I'm a fan of Peng Xiao Ran. Ren Jia Lun always has a sour look on his face with a stiff posture in all the films I've seen him in, and intimacy with his female leads are normally slim to none, as in this drama. I'll keep watching and maybe it will get better towards the end.

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Mediocre at best

I loved "goodbye my princess" , "Blue whisper" & "Love of Nirvana" so I was expecting something great, promo was so promising. Unfortunately Ren Jia Lun looked bored in almost every scene he was in and I kind of understand him. Story was indeed boring, same as his one type face expression. There was nothing memorable in the soundtrack, usually these series come with great soundtrack and there is at least one tune which you would remember. The entire production looks like this was shot back in 2015 but was released in 2025 for some reason. I would forgive it if we had some good side characters and sub plot, but none was actually interesting or memorable. The only good thing here was Peng Xiao Ran.

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Love and Crown was a project I was genuinely excited for. I adore Allen Ren—his character choices and the types of stories he gravitates toward are usually ones I end up loving. And it’s been a while since I’ve really followed Peng Xiao Ran’s work, so her involvement added even more to my anticipation.

But the first episode completely threw me off. I know I shouldn’t have let the early news and reviews influence me, but they definitely colored my expectations. It felt strange starting in the “present” timeline, only to be abruptly taken to the past in episode two. I had to rewind several times just to figure out what happened. What exactly were the director or screenwriter trying to accomplish? Were they trying to build hype with the Goodbye My Princess parallels, only to jump back in time immediately after? It left me with so many questions, and I really wish the editing and story flow had been handled more smoothly.

Right now, I’m debating whether to put this series on hold or make it a slow, in-between watch while I catch up on other dramas. Honestly, I’m leaning toward the latter. I just really hope this series won’t disappoint the way many others have suggested. I don’t mind the comparisons to Goodbye My Princess—short series often share similar tropes anyway. What matters to me is seeing solid chemistry between the leads and a storyline that actually pulls me in.

This will be an ongoing review, current score is at 6/10

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